escended till 2.55, when we camped on a small gully
coming from the south, and in which a little water remained, and on the
bank some dry grass of very inferior kind. Since leaving the Roper River
the general character of the country has been worthless; the small size
of the watercourses indicating an arid country to the south-west of our
route. Few traces of blacks have been seen, though vast columns of smoke
rise to the east and south-east; animals or birds are rarely seen. The
rocky nature of the country has caused the horses' shoes to wear out
rapidly, and the day seldom passes without having to replace the shoes of
several of the horses.

Latitude by a Coronae Borealis and a Trianguli Australis 15 degrees 40
minutes 19 seconds.

26th July.

At 8.0 a.m. steered south-east, soon entering a scrub of acacia,
melaleuca, and grevillia, with a few eucalypti; the soil sandy, with a
few blocks of gray sandstone; some small dry watercourses trended to the
north. At noon crossed a large creek trending to the south-south-east
through a very rocky valley, and the whole country was very barren and
rocky. At 2.35 p.m. recrossed the creek, which here turned to the east
and north-east. After following it down for an hour, found a small patch
of grass, and encamped. The bed of the creek was very rocky and well
supplied with water in shallow pools.

Latitude by a Coronae Borealis and a Trianguli Australis 15 degrees 50
minutes 2 seconds.

BARREN COUNTRY.

27th July (Sunday).

Resumed our route at 7.0 a.m., crossing a very rocky ridge of hills, in
descending which one of the horses wedged his foot into a cleft of the
rock, and falling down, was only released by beating the rock away with
an axe. Fortunately, though much cut and bruised, there was no serious
injury. With some difficulty we extricated ourselves from these rocky
ridges, and, crossing a large creek, entered a level plain covered with
melaleuca scrub. Crossing two sandy creeks fifteen and twenty yards wide
with shallow pools, at noon reached a barren range of white sandstone
hills, rising about 250 feet. Beyond this entered an open grassy plain,
with clumps of melaleuca-trees, indicating the existence of springs of
water, one of which we reached at 1.25 p.m., and encamped. The country
passed is of a worthless description, there being very little grass, and
the soil very poor and stony. The sandstones are of gray colour, and not
regularly stratified; but where it c